News
A round up of naitonal and international news

Select Committee news
A committee corridor round up

The Oakley Column
Robin Oakley's monthly take on politics
Robin Oakley

Voxpop
Sir Robert Worcester's polling round
Sir Robert Worcester

Month in review
Edward Davie reviews the last month in politics
Edward Davie

Is black the new blue?
Sam Macrory meets an ‘A-list’prospective parliamentary candidate who is pushing the Conservative envelope
Sam Macrory

More ways than one
As the author of the ‘Third Way’, Lord Giddens has been credited with shaping the politics of Tony Blair. Here he assesses how Gordon Brown, the man most likely to succeed Blair as prime minister, can rediscover the early dynamism of New Labour
Lord Giddens

Positive blues
John Bercow looks back on the Conservative conference in Bournemouth, and describes a political party that continues tore-invent itself
John Bercow

Top rate performance
Despite leading the rebels against the party’s new tax policies, Evan Harris says the Liberal Democrat conference showed the party is not afraid to debate contentious issues
Dr Evan Harris

Speaking out
As Labour’s most rebellious MP John McDonnell is used to being unpopular with Tony Blair – now he is upsetting Brownites with an outspoken attack on the chancellor. He was speaking to Edward Davie
Edward Davie

Time for fresh openings
Sunder Katwala looks ahead to the battlegrounds that will be created by this year’s Queen’s Speech, and suggests that the format sends out the wrong messages about the constitutional relationships between Crown, government and Parliament
Sunder Katwala

The final round
While the prime minister will be using the Queen’s Speech to force his agenda upon Parliament, both supporters of Gordon Brown and David Cameron will be looking for ways to derail him, writes Nicholas Boles
Nicholas Boles

Too much, too late
As the prime minister leaves no stone unturned in a crammed final Queen’s Speech, the Lib Dems may benefit from increased opportunities for compromise and horse-trading, argues Ben Wiseman
Ben Wiseman

Carbon thrust
Still looking for a political legacy? Tony Juniper urges the prime minister to use the forthcoming Queen’s Speech to go down in environmental history
Tony Juniper

What price liberty?
Gareth Crossman and Shami Chakrabarti fear that the new parliamentary session will see the passing of more laws that excessively impinge on human rights and civil liberties issues
Gareth Crossman and Shami Chakrabarti

Bills before the Bar
Fiona Woolf assesses the legal reforms that may appear in the Queen’s Speech, and considers their possible consequences for the legal sector
Fiona Woolf

Credit retort
New legislation on the future of the UK pensions system is expected to be unveiled in the Queen’s speech, but Ros Altman believes that the current reforms represent a missed opportunity
Dr Ros Altman

Blogs and beartraps
The Guardian’s digital chief, Simon Waldman, tells Edward Davie that politicians should embrace the internet – but beware of its potential pitfalls
Edward Davie

No time for fainthearts
Shaun Woodward warns against the dangers of excessive EU regulation in the exciting and rapidly evolving world of new media
Shaun Woodward

No turning back
Greater efforts must be made to make the public feel more comfortable with new technology, says Hugo Swire
Hugo Swire

Renewed focus
Don Foster gives the government credit for its promotion of digital technology, but warns that much remains to be done to raise awareness of its benefits
Don Foster

Falling interest rates
Parliament may slowly be taking on modern media practices to engage with the electorate, but far more progress needs to be made, argues Lord Puttnam
Lord Puttnam

Signal catastrophe?
David Elstein wonders why the viewing public is being stampeded into upgrading to digital television
David Elstein

Performance marker
Jay Cross charts the troubled evolution of eLearning, and suggests it is time to re-invent the discipline in a social context
Jay Cross

Guerrilla journalism
He may have already enjoyed some run-ins with politicians but, writes Recess Monkey, if successfully tamed the art of blogging can strengthen ties between government and the people
Recess Monkey

War of words
Howard Tumber and Frank Webster discuss how modern media practices have created a new form of warfare, based around the accumulation and dissemination of information
Howard Tumber and Frank Webster

Back to the country
Sir Michael Lyons discusses his report into the reorganisation of local government with Sam Macrory, and calls for new mechanisms to prevent re-centralisation
Sam Macrory

More power to you
Ruth Kelly spells out this government’s commitment to devolving power to local level
Ruth Kelly

Reinvigorating the roots
The Conservatives would do more than pay lip service to the principle of localism, says Caroline Spelman
Caroline Spelman

Regions to believe
Phyllis Starkey explains her select committee’s investigation into future options for regional government in England, much of which is focused on the debate surrounding city regions
Dr Phyllis Starkey

Unfinished monkey business
It seems a long time since he was elected when locals knew him as the simian mascot for Hartlepool FC but, says Stuart Drummond, his re-election last year as mayor of Hartlepool is evidence that its people see the post as pivotal to the town’s resurgence and prosperity
Stuart Drummond

Irish inclusion
Alarmed at the way he saw Irish society evolving, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has set up the Taskforce on Active Citizenship. Here its chairman Mary Davis explains what the taskforce hopes to achieve
Mary Davis

Musings of an ethics man
Mike Gapes explains to Sam Macrory how foreign affairs flourish in the non-theatrical forum that is his select committee
Sam Macrory

The bear grip tightens
Robert R. Amsterdam argues that Russia’s energy policies are allowing it to essentially achieve what it was unable to attain throughout the long decades of the Cold War: control over European politics and economics
Robert R. Amsterdam

A podium for progress
The construction opportunities created by the 2012 Olympic Games are many, writes Margaret Hodge, not least to showcase the UK’s advances in science, technology and innovation
Margaret Hodge

Je Ne Regrette: Lord Lamont
Lord Lamont is a Conservative peer who served in the Thatcher and Major governments. He was chancellor of the exchequer on ‘Black Wednesday’, when the UK crashed out of the European exchange rate mechanism in 1992. He was talking to Edward Davie
Edward Davie